Sue Curnock, from Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “Choose the wild places that are special to you – maybe the downs, woodlands, or a favourite urban nature spot where wildlife thrives.”

There is a first prize is £100 cash and the runner-up will receive a set of four Mark Greco wildlife mugs.

Pictures taken by the 12 finalists will appear in The Trust’s 2016 online calendar, and the overall winning image will feature in their members’ magazine, monthly enews and on their website.

You can enter up to five images and they must all be in a landscape format and no bigger than 1MB. All images must be digital – no slides or prints. Once the Trust’s judges have selected the 12 finalists, the overall winner will be voted for by the public. Closing date for receipt of entries is 30 September 2015.

Winning pictures last year included seagulls flocking around a fishing boat, a field of poppies on the South Downs, a kingfisher with a fish it had caught and the close-up shot, shown here, of a ladybird on the petals of a tulip.

Sussex Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity which was formed in 1961, and is now the largest local organisation dedicated to protecting the wildlife and natural environment across Sussex.

The Trust has over 30,000 members who are helping to protect the rich natural heritage of the county.

It manages over 30 nature reserves and 4,500 acres of land across Sussex and conducts research that supports the conservation of nature.

The Trust says that 60 percent of our wildlife is currently in decline with some species facing extinction.